Liontamer

Good expansiveness per mp’s usual. I’d argue the intro sounded the best, then the rest sounded dated, yet it’s a creative in terms of the arrangement. The autopilot drums for the closing section were disappointing, but for its time this track does stand apart from the original well, and even in comparison to the rest of the Radical Dreamers flood set.

The potential was there to further develop in some different directions, but the genre interpretation was fun. Beats were meaty, the production was spacious for its time, it’s a good rendition. Loved the sampled NES music intro; sounded extra ominous and VRC6-like!

For the early days, this is pretty solid. Though much of the instrumentation is rigid and dated, the arrangement has a ton of character, and the lead piano (not the left-hand part) and the organ in particular sounded strong. Very creative approach by mp!

E for effort, as Saunders himself admits. Feels MIDI rip level with no depth to the sounds, and no meaningful transition between the two songs. A product of its time, the good ol’ days. :-)

Hefty beats here that fill up the soundscape well. The saw lead’s too abrasive for me personally, but I’ll live. Cool to sample the “GO!” vox from the original. Some patience/restraint shown by not getting to the melody until later on, which helped this take stand apart. Didn’t realize how overlooked this Sonic 3 theme was; it was a great stage theme from a fun zone. :-) No stress playing that level back in the day!

Good changing of the textures over time. The saw was the weak point, since it was very vanilla. Enjoyed the breakbeat loop thrown in there in the second half, which I’ve heard in other tracks. The dropoff at 4:35 was well done, with good bass writing followed by getting subtractive with the textures. Shows its age, yet has good arranging/interpretation fundamentals.

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Opens up with some pretty vanilla leads, but they've got power behind 'em, so props on the production there. Nice guitar-like chugs at :17, combined with the loud "woo"-like synths doubling the melody. Nice dropoff at :41 to a thinner texture while preserving the groove and gradually rebuilding, including with the vocal samples. For the new section at 1:13, it felt like the bass and lead were both too loud compared to everything else, but nothing majorly dinging this. Overall, this has a fun Genesis+ kind of sound to it. At 2:01, the woo-like sound handling the melody was again way too loud; nothing where I'm saying this can't pass, but it felt imbalanced. Regardless of some mixing & volume reservations, the sound design's cool overall (whether "dated or "vintage") and I loved CJ's arrangement approach, which has a lot of character, and that easily trumps any minor production critiques. YES

I remember listening to this on my phone a few weeks ago and thinking the initial sequencing felt stiff. To me, it's lacks humanization that undermines the energy of the writing, but it's serviceable. The creativity of the arrangement side tends to make up for this for me, though I can absolutely understand others feeling otherwise, and it's a borderline case for me. I liked the bass writing; it's oddly mixed in that I hear the notes, but it's not as audible as it feels like it should be, so you don't get the full effect of the cool composition there. Nice sudden rhythmic shift at 1:59 as a subtle transition into the chorus at 2:02, that was smart stuff. At 2:14 when the snare rhythm shifted, it exposed the relative emptiness of that drum sample more, but it wasn't a huge deal; the textures are cohesive enough. Sampled guitar from 3:43-3:54 is weird in that it rings out so loudly yet it's there so fleetingly (the part comes back at 4:19); didn't make sense to mix it like that. In any case, while the sample realism was the biggest drawback to me, Kevin's arrangement approach was cool, and I thought the combination of themes was effective. I would love an improved version if possible, but I'm willing to let it ride, and appreciate the creative arrangement approach first and foremost. YES (borderline)

Many thanks to minusworld for the source usage breakdown. :-) I get what the NOs are saying about the relative imbalances (e.g. the volume of the sax first used at 2:04's absurd :-D), so I wouldn't mind another mixing pass at this, but if we couldn't get another version of this, the arrangement are performances are solid, so we ride! YES

I remember voting on ella guro's and, at the time, we'd had a falling out, so though I was impartial with the vote itself, I was upset and shouldn't have let it to color how I expressed things. I still enjoy the arrangement side of "Unleashed!" and most of the production. I've listened to "Unleashed!" multiple times afterward to ensure I wasn't being biased, and I still couldn't get behind the (fully intentional) levels of distortion for the big boom-boom-boom drumming, even though I heard the Guided by Voices references and understood the influence, so it'll be interesting to see if I also feel jmr's approach, inspired by all that and "Ashes in the Snow", is too much. For example, 7:52-11:10 in "Ashes in the Snow" just sounds like noise & mud where the details of the writing are too obscured, so I hope it's not a ton of this. :-( Source theme arrives at :45. Great gradual build of the textures until 1:50, and I of course enjoyed the rhythmic changes. Nice transition into the chorus section at 1:50. I love the tension of the backing parts here, especially knowing the influences, as I'm 2:30 in and now I'm bracing for the hit, it's on the way. :-D OK, 2:43, we get some added geetar in there, and we don't have any massive booming or distortion yet. A-ha, 3:23, there it is, though I'd say this is way more tame than "Unleashed!" You get the boominess and the volume being overdriven some, but "Ashes in the Snow" had the distortion of backing guitars as a really thick backing layer and that didn't happen here, while "Unleashed!" had the drums & cymbals distorted and blasting at 1:33 & 1:47. I'd be really interested in Emunator (this is his kind of thing) or another J comparing "Unleashed!" and "Ashes in the Snow Man" to better articulate why I'm OK with the latter; the best way I can describe it is that the booming drums here didn't slam over the top of the other instrumentation and sound as crunchy & clipping. Diggin' it! YES

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Artist Name: jmr Games & Sources EarthBound - Snow Man https://ocremix.org/song/820/snowman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niE24aTdtns EarthBound - In Winters There Is A Genius (similar song, but has a unique section at the end which I've used in my arrangement) https://ocremix.org/song/26452/in-winters-there-is-a-genius https://youtu.be/NY2SD4ur0Gc oooh fancy new submission form! Hey all! Hope you're doing well! Last month, I used Dwelling of Duels as an excuse to shake off the rust and try recording a solo arrangement for the first time in a while. Normally I'd turn to my Marshall Art bandmates for something like this - I'm severely outclassed as a guitarist compared to Mikhail and Cory, and I haven't programmed anything other than famitracker drums in years (and why would you, with ErichWK and Kev Ragone around?) - but I thought it would be a fun challenge for myself to make something entirely on my own. As the title of the arrangement alludes, this track is heavily inspired by the band Mono, particularly their song "Ashes in the Snow". There are some clear aesthetic and arrangement choices that are, shall we say, "borrowed" from that song (especially the drone and glockenspiel intro), but as my song proceeds I think it becomes it's own thing and leans less into their specific sound. A large number of the choices I made for the guitar tones and drum production (kick and snare spring reverb! :D) owe a lot to Cory Johnson's music. Cory's been an inspiration and a friend for over a decade now, and I've had the opportunity to collaborate with him quite a few times so it's maybe natural that his style would rub off on me. I think a few DoD voters might have thought this was one of his entries; I am merely the Big 8 to Cory's Coca Cola. I've also got to highlight one final influence - ella guro's "Unleashed!...". I posted a review of that track back in 2016: So here I am almost a decade later, finally recording the arrangement I had in mind back then. It's pretty clear how that version influenced mine: BIG AND LOUD AND SATURATED DRUMS. Thanks for the inspiration, Liz. One final note: the intro drone. It is intentionally uncomfortably long. For the DoD version, I decorated that section with a Carl Sagan sample from an interview about the risks of nuclear winter that is awfully, scarily relevant to today's climate change crisis. I've removed this sample to comply with the content policy, but I've opted to not cut down the length of the drone that was under the sample. Even without Carl's prophetic voice that drone sets the tone for the rest of the arrangement in a way that I felt simply didn't work when cut down. The whole idea is to create a mood of tension, discomfort, and unease, so if you don't like how long it takes the song to start, I say it's done it's job. All the best, and I hope you enjoy the track!

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Wow! And being a "Wings of Gold" fan back in the day with virt, I know Jake will enjoy this! Shit, is this an audition to do a Shovel Knight rock anthem arrangement album, because this is an amazing proof of concept. At 3:48, the guitar work took the intensity to another level; loved the layers/effects there. Triumphant! YES

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Credits: Lead Vocals: Valentino Francavilla Backing Vocals: Susanna Gray-Jones Guitar, Bass/Drum Programming, Mixing, Lyrics - WillRock Artist Comments "What if Helloween covered Shovel Knight?" Honestly, I'm not sure where the idea for this came from, because this idea first came to me maybe 5 years ago. This is the first time I've done a video game arrangement with a main vocal part taking the lead melody, complete with original lyrics. There are no synths this time around, and I went full on quad time drums power metal with this one, which I've dabbled with in previous remixes but never gone all out like this. Plus, Valentino Francavilla, a vocalist so good he could give Bruce Dickinson a run for his money, absolutely DEMOLISHES this vocal part. He steals the show completely, and I don't even care because he's THAT good. I'm amazed he agreed to it. I also got my cousin, Susanna Gray-Jones, to provide backing vocals that were layered into a choir, and you can hear her most clearly just after the last chorus. I know a lot of people often say this of their most recent work while they're hyped up about something new and exciting they've finished, but I'm going to go out there and say this just might be the best remix i've ever done, and it just wasn't possible without the help of both Valentino and Susanna. I should probably do more collabs... Source usage notes: 0:36 lead guitar riff is actually taken from the source, it plays in the background during the main chorus section and I expanded on it a bit. 3:48-4:28 is taken from Cargo of Fineries. The rest is from High Above The Land. Should add up to 50% all in. Lyrics Observe the skies for the air assault The captain knight, he prepares for the flight Into the skies, to the heavens we go A battlefield cry, we prepare to die Swift as a bird, a magnificent cur Watch your back for his rapier attack The engines roar as it takes to the skies We’ve got to prepare for war And we will lose ourselves in the clouds Just like an eagle We will fight and we will fly For valour and hope we rise We will fly high above the land Shoot into the stars We will fight and we may die for all of mankind Jumping on platforms that fall from the sky Using propellers to court his ascent The gallant knight will traverse the terrain Through burdensome winds The sunset blares as the wind knight looks on He meets his foe, for they’ll soon come to blows Ducking through every attack that he throws The propeller knight he falls And we will lose ourselves in the clouds Just like an eagle We will fight and we will fly For everyone we try We’ll fly high above the land Shoot into the stars We will fight and we may die for you AHHHHHHHHHHH The engines roar As it takes to the skies We’ve got to prepare for war And we will lose ourselves in the clouds Just like an eagle We will fight and we will fly For everyone we try We will fly high above the land Shoot into the stars We will fight and we may die for all of mankind

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Sly psy goodness! Nice job, everyone. :-) YES

In my entire life, I’ve never heard anything this goofy wrapped in a sinister cloak this effectively. Wow. AY!

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Artist Name: Jonathan Fleming-Bock In honor of Super Metroid's 30th anniversary, I wanted to have a bit of fun and remix one of it's most iconic tracks: Lower Brinstar. Hope you enjoy! My thanks and utmost respect goes to Kenji Yamamoto and all those who brought us this masterpiece of a game that will forever remain one of my all time favorites. In the remix, I wanted to emphasize and bring to the forefront the rhythmic aspect that is subtle in the more atmospheric original piece. I imagined a more menacing, determined energy as if Samus was in a hostile environment but fierce in her conviction to complete her mission. I also wanted to bring in some more oriental instruments such as the ghuzeng and xiao as the original hinted to me to have some eastern scales in some areas. I also opted to blend synths with the more acoustic orchestral sounds as a nod to the games original soundtrack being a blend of sci-fi with more traditional orchestral scores. All sounds and sources are from purchased and licensed VST libraries I've gathered over the years. Games & Sources In honor of Super Metroid's 30th anniversary, I wanted to have a bit of fun and remix one of it's most iconic tracks: Lower Brinstar. Composer: Kenji Yamamoto

When I say this, it'll sound like I'm holding my nose: I hate the dry, fakey brass samples in the intro so much! Each stab got me right in the ear. :-D It feels like the track's leaning into their cheesiness when they come back at :40. Nice switch-up at 1:04 into the guitar comping over the top of the source tune on bass, which also sounds super on-point; swanky swanky! I'll never love that brass; the way it's used in "Sing, Sing, Sing Your Heart Out" was stronger in that there was a fuller texture for it to sit in which helped mitigate the realism issues, but at the end of the day, the strength of the arrangement and performances more than carries it. Paperboy! YES